Gamescom 2013: Microsoft’s Xbox One

Gamescom is currently underway in Germany, but Microsoft decided to sit out broadcasting their press conference at the convention to promote the launch of the Xbox One.

That hasn’t stopped a bunch of people from liveblogging it though and the various key announcements have since made their way online.

First up, the biggest news is that when you pre-order an Xbox One before Christmas, you will be given a digital copy of “FIFA 14” for free. The deal also applies to those who have already pre-ordered.

In Europe, a special bundle will be sold that includes a copy of “Call of Duty: Ghosts” in the package.

Actual games news was fairly light. Microsoft confirmed the exclusive title “Fable Legends” which will include four-player co-op, and that Ubisoft is developing the Kinect game “Fighter Within”. They also confirmed that Mojang’s “Cobalt” will be coming to the console, and the Xbox One version of “The Division” will have special content available.

Attempting to lure back indie developers, they announced the ID@Xbox to “support smaller studios with events, forums and technical assistance”. This gives developers full access to the capabilities of the console including cloud services, Kinect and the Xbox Live toolset.

The company also confirmed the game titles that are being targeted to be available at the Xbox One launch. A date for the console’s release was NOT specified: